Tiny Hut, as written, blocks creatures, objects, spells, and magical effects, so any effect that is none of those will pass through it. In addition, "The atmosphere inside the space is comfortable and dry". This is actually not as restrictive as it sounds.
Creatures and Spells are fairly obvious
According to the basic rules, "For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone".
According to the SAC, answering "Is the breath weapon of a dragon magical?", you have to look at the following criteria
Is it a magic item?
Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell that’s mentioned in its description?
Is it a spell attack?
Is it fueled by the use of spell slots?
Does its description say it’s magical?
If your answer to any of those questions is yes, the feature is magical.
This means there are actually quite a few things that can pass through the hut, including
Many creature attacks or powers that do non-physical damage. For example, a dragon's breath weapon.
Liquids and gases, as they are are not discrete. The air inside the hut is required to be comfortable and dry, but there's nothing saying there has to be any air inside the hut. Thus, for example, redirecting a river will flood the hut.
Natural energy effects, such as sound and lightning.
Laser and antimatter weapons, if those exist in your setting.
There might be some player effects that can do the job, though I don't know off hand what they are.
I suspect all of these exclusions are accidents rather than intended, but people who use tiny hut deserve to be the victims of rules lawyering :).
Hey now Tiny Hut is freaking awesome. I don't play as a player, and as a DM I *love* Tiny Hut. Sure, it gets annoying when it starts to scratch the ground and it gets kinda bothersome when it tries to peck things what with all the belongings being thrown around like that, but I mean, it is a mobile home that lives off birdseed!
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
The hut you're referring to isn't tiny. It's Gargantuan. Which makes it hilarious when the rogue decides to stealth 65' away from it and the hut just watches silently even if they roll a Nat 20.
Yeah they aren't choosing to pass through it. Falling makes that choice for them. It is forced movement. Unless they can fly, having nothing to stand on means you fall.
If that's how you want to rule it when you're DMing, you do you. But there is nothing in the spell's description that says you can't choose to lean against the inside wall without falling out or that you would fall through the floor without wanting to.
I'll personally never understand this need by some DMs to hate on or cheese the Tiny Hut. It's as if they're saying Oh noes, my players can take a long rest without worry of random encounters! The horror of the game not being bogged down! How terrible! Just have your random encounters wait outside for a Good Morning Roll Initiative!
Look, you guys are welcome to homebrew new things the tiny hut can do, sure. But as written, it doesn't say anything about allowing creatures to suspend themselves in the air and ignore falls. Spells only do what they say they do. If you're following the rules, that is.
I encourage you to read it again. It makes no claim to allowing creatures to stand on some magically levitating floor. None whatsoever.
What it does say? The creature you designate to be inside it can freely pass out of it. So, if they fall, they go out of it.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
Look, you guys are welcome to homebrew new things the tiny hut can do, sure. But as written, it doesn't say anything about allowing creatures to suspend themselves in the air and ignore falls. Spells only do what they say they do. If you're following the rules, that is.
I encourage you to read it again. It makes no claim to allowing creatures to stand on some magically levitating floor. None whatsoever.
What it does say? The creature you designate to be inside it can freely pass out of it. So, if they fall, they go out of it.
That is not what the spell description states.
Like I already posted, if you want to homebrew that your players fall through the Tiny Hut with forced movement, that's your prerogative. But if you actually read the wording of the spell it actually states: Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely. The word can in this usage is defined as being made possible. Nowhere in the spell's description does it state that creatures must move through the dome or floor, only that they can. The spell makes no reference to any forced movement for creatures inside the dome.
The spell describes the tiny hut as a hemisphere, meaning it is a half-sphere or a dome/wall with a floor. The spell also states the Tiny Hut remains stationary for the duration. It does not state it's a magical levitating floor, or a floor made of air, only that the hemisphere is stationary. Which does not mean it scrapes along the ground while the planet rotates beneath it, assuming it has been cast it on Toril, Exandria, etc. and not a flat D&D world.
So if the ground underneath disappears, the floor of the hemisphere is still there and it does not move. The occupants can definitely, as written, go through it but, as written, there's nothing to indicate that they must.
Creatures that freely pass through it, do. They can walk through its walls too. Weird? Sure, magic spells do weird things.
The hut keeps other things out. It doesn't keep you in.
This is incorrect.
Everywhere in the rules of the game, whenever a creature or player can do something it means that they have the option to do so if they so choose.
If you have a superpower which makes it so that you can walk through walls, it doesn't mean that you will always pass through walls even when you don't want to. The default is that you interact with walls normally, but if you choose to do so you can activate your superpower and walk through them instead.
Tiny hut's description is very clear that it is a hemisphere, which means that it is a dome with a floor.
Nope. A hemisphere does not have a shell, it's a volume. The hemispherical effect of Tiny Hut is "The atmosphere inside the space is comfortable and dry, regardless of the weather outside." It also determines where the caster has to be to not have the spell end.
The actual dome of force is described separately: "A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you and remains stationary for the duration. "
That is explicitly a dome, and explicitly above you, neither of which allows for a floor.
My ruling, based on as it is written, would be it is up to the creature if it falls or not -- but only if one presumes it is a hemisphere with a bottom (as someone earlier determined).
However...
As written, Tiny Hut is only a Dome. Not a hemisphere. Some outside agency might say it is half a sphere (a hemisphere) but That isn't in the spell itself. So my actual ruling would be that it lacks a floor because I don't give a rat's ass what someone says they meant if I am going by RAW.
Take out the support, and you have a dome floating in the air and a bunch of falling folks.
I know that you can shape a wall of force, but RAW it explicitly says "a Hemispherical".
Now, that's if I was to go by RAW.
I will say that every time I read it, I keep thinking "this isn't tiny hut, this is secure shelter" but that's because I am apparently trying to flashback to when they were two separate spells. And that leads me into the other thing, the narrative play rule.
Narratively, in a given situation, I would likely be inclined to allow them to not fall through. For a couple simple reasons: 1 - they wouldn't have been allowed to set it up in a freaking tree to begin with, and it messes with the story of the characters seeking a moment's rest when I am throwing all manner of rando enc's at 'em.
"cast it in a tree" my hind end!
Edited to add:
A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you and remains stationary for the duration. The spell ends if you leave its area.
Nowhere in the description does it say hemisphere.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Hmm. Which counts more here? The DDB stuff that's been updated, or the PHB stuff that hasn't? Because your copypasta comes from the PHB, and mine comes from the DDB spell description.
(because, turns out, we both right).
Given the text description between the two is the same, I am still ruling RAW that the dome has no floor.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
What's that spherical thing on the DDB Range/Area part of the spell's description that it doesn't let you copy/paste? (Serious question, I use Roll20 not DDB.) For extra fun, there's also the Sage Advice where Jeremy Crawford contradicts himself. There is the possibility that WotC & DDB staff are just trolling the player base because it's fun.
I'm not trying to tell anybody how to DM their games here. I'm just pointing out what's written down. Ultimately RAW and RAI don't matter. It's what we want to do as DMs. My ruling is that it is a hut that has a floor. If the player wants to make it an igloo or a hut from Gilligan's Island they're welcome to. I would even let them put it on a raft or other mobile surface that it will fit on. But I don't need to destroy a Tiny Hut to kill my players' characters. I might need to do it to save them from each other...
Hmm. Which counts more here? The DDB stuff that's been updated, or the PHB stuff that hasn't? Because your copypasta comes from the PHB, and mine comes from the DDB spell description.
The PHB as that is an actual rule book (and tiny hut hasn't had any errata AFAIK).
Creatures that freely pass through it, do. They can walk through its walls too. Weird? Sure, magic spells do weird things.
The hut keeps other things out. It doesn't keep you in.
This is incorrect.
Everywhere in the rules of the game, whenever a creature or player can do something it means that they have the option to do so if they so choose.
If you have a superpower which makes it so that you can walk through walls, it doesn't mean that you will always pass through walls even when you don't want to. The default is that you interact with walls normally, but if you choose to do so you can activate your superpower and walk through them instead.
So what happens to the objects inside the dome when the area under the floor is excavated. Objects, unlike characters, do not have the ability to choose. Objects like crossbow bolts can pass through when not being held by anyone. Presumably then, all objects lying on the floor of a tiny hut when the ground underneath is removed then fall through even if characters do not? (Assuming someone rules the hut has a floor in the first place :) ).
What happens to a character that is sleeping and incapable of choosing? :)
"Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely."
Tiny hut's description is very clear that it is a hemisphere, which means that it is a dome with a floor.
Nope. A hemisphere does not have a shell, it's a volume.
Going into the weeds a bit here but I was curious so I looked it up. Here is what Wikipedia says about this:
"Mathematicians consider a sphere to be a two-dimensional closed surfaceembedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. They draw a distinction a sphere and a ball, which is a three-dimensional manifold with boundary that includes the volume contained by the sphere . . . The distinction between "circle" and "disk" in the plane is similar."
Anyway, I would rule that by default the objects remain within the hemisphere and only exit when an affected creature wants it to. Like, if a PC within the hemisphere wants to start a fire outside of the hemisphere, he can carry his fire starting equipment out and then back inside if he so chooses. Or, for fun he can throw his flint and steel against the wall and watch it rattle around inside the hemisphere. And yes, this would be dependent on the hut having a floor in the first place which is actually pretty unclear.
In my opinion this is definitely a spell that deserved errata for clarification.
Thezzaruz, to answer your question: Yes PHB is the physical Players Handbook or PDF version. But in DnDBeyond (DDB) there is no errata with the exception of adding a sphere symbol in the casting. "Tiny Hut" is a direct rip of "Lemund's Tiny Hut" from the Wizard spell. The verbiage is almost the same but in Lemund's spell, it does say the spell casts as a hemisphere dome in the PHB. A little more clear to be certain. But then when I reread it both descriptions do state above and around. Not below. Which makes sense of a Dome.
It is in my opinion this spell needs some explanation more than, "JC once said in a Twitter post" To me those are just conversations like this. But with no solid blueprint to follow it is DM ruling that fixes this spell.
I am amazed at how this conversation went well beyond my original thoughts and has in my opinion (saying that a lot in the rambling) been very constructive. I appreciate that a group of DMs weighed in with good rulings plus some fun ways to mess with it. Helped me know what do to in the future if I need to rule it.
Tiny hut's description is very clear that it is a hemisphere, which means that it is a dome with a floor.
Nope. A hemisphere does not have a shell, it's a volume.
Going into the weeds a bit here but I was curious so I looked it up. Here is what Wikipedia says about this:
"Mathematicians consider a sphere to be a two-dimensional closed surfaceembedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. They draw a distinction a sphere and a ball, which is a three-dimensional manifold with boundary that includes the volume contained by the sphere . . . The distinction between "circle" and "disk" in the plane is similar."
The spell obviously isn't describing a mathematical or even geographic hemisphere. It's not creating a volume, it is a magical construction. In the real world, a dome can be natural or manmade. Constructed domes, such as the Houston Astrodome, are not volumes, they are, to use Pentagruel's wording, shells. And they have a floor.
The spell explicitly states that it creates a magical dome. A dome is defined as a roof or vault having a circular, polygonal, or elliptical base and a generally hemispherical or semispherical shape. The spell states in the range section that this dome is a hemisphere with a 10' radius.
We have always ruled it was a simple dome. No floor.
When cast it creates a seal around the edge that would keep out the normal atmosphere. Wind, rain and extreme temps. The edge can not be broken but you can tunnel into or out of it. Its to low level of a spell to be impenetrable. Its a essentially a very strong tent. A temporary shelter from the elements.
It has several weaknesses to account for it low level, the caster can not leave the area of effect, no floor, time limit and limited area of effect. Its greatest feature is that it is a ritual spell. A no cost spell for the caster.
Do not make it more than it already is.
But rule as you wish, just remember that making a low level spell more powerful essentially makes similar higher level spells worth less.
The spell states in the range section that this dome is a hemisphere with a 10' radius.
That doesn't actually help you, because the definition of a hemisphere is a portion of a sphere, and the bottom is not a portion of a sphere.
Now, D&D does not use the mathematical definition of sphere -- a fireball affects everyone within the volume, not just people on the edges, but that also doesn't help, because the dome is not not a volume effect. The volume effects of tiny hut are:
The atmosphere is clean and dry.
The light level is controllable by the caster.
If the caster leaves the volume, the spell ends.
The dome is actually a wall effect, similar to wall of force, and there is no area category in D&D for walls -- you are required to just read the text of the spell to determine what they can do. The text of the spell says 'dome', and while it's possible for a dome to be closed at the bottom, the vast majority are not.
I actually don't need help. A physical sphere, such as a ball, is round. A physical hemisphere, such as the Astrodome, is round with one flat side.
If the spell's description only stated dome and the range did not include the word hemisphere then you might have a point about not all domes having a floor since not all domes are hemispherical. If only the range stated hemisphere and the description did not state dome them you might have a point about volume. Unfortunately the spell includes both so it has a floor.
It is not referencing volume.
It is not referencing a shell.
Nowhere does the spell's description state that it is a wall effect.
The spell explicitly states it is referencing a magically constructed hemispherical dome which the caster can adjust the exterior appearance of and the lighting within.
This is backed up by a Sage Advice entry that I previously linked where Jeremy Crawford stated that hemisphere was used intentionally to denote that the Tiny Hut's dome has a floor.
This is backed up by a Sage Advice entry that I previously linked where Jeremy Crawford stated that hemisphere was used intentionally to denote that the Tiny Hut's dome has a floor.
The entry you link (a) contradicts itself, and (b) isn't in SAC and thus not official.
WotC is entirely sure. In his first tweet (is this now known as Xited?) on this matter, Jeremy Crawford states: Leomund's tiny hut creates a dome, not a hemisphere. There's no floor. In his subsequent tweet, Jeremy Crawford states Leomund's tiny hut does have a floor, Mr. Crawford (read your own book). The spell's range entry says the effect is hemispherical.
Rules As Written the spell creates a dome in the shape of a hemisphere, meaning it has a floor.
Rules As Intended the spell creates a magical hut with a domed shape and a floor.
No errata is needed because the errata would simply be "read the book" as Mr. Crawford tweeted above when it was still called Twitter and now X.
As always the DM of the game has final say and determines if they want the hut to have a floor or not. The DM can even outlaw the spell entirely. However, if it does not have a floor and the player casts it on snow, you're going to have to deal with the comfortable and dry air melting the snow. If it is cast in a swamp no floor means they're resting on wet stagnant ground. Which runs counter to the reason the spell was created in the first place.
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Hey now Tiny Hut is freaking awesome. I don't play as a player, and as a DM I *love* Tiny Hut. Sure, it gets annoying when it starts to scratch the ground and it gets kinda bothersome when it tries to peck things what with all the belongings being thrown around like that, but I mean, it is a mobile home that lives off birdseed!
Huh? Oh. Different hut.
*blushes*
nevermind...
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Creatures that freely pass through it, do. They can walk through its walls too. Weird? Sure, magic spells do weird things.
The hut keeps other things out. It doesn't keep you in.
Look, you guys are welcome to homebrew new things the tiny hut can do, sure. But as written, it doesn't say anything about allowing creatures to suspend themselves in the air and ignore falls. Spells only do what they say they do. If you're following the rules, that is.
I encourage you to read it again. It makes no claim to allowing creatures to stand on some magically levitating floor. None whatsoever.
What it does say? The creature you designate to be inside it can freely pass out of it. So, if they fall, they go out of it.
I'm probably laughing.
It is apparently so hard to program Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul spell-swapping into dndbeyond they had to remake the game without it rather than implement it.
That is not what the spell description states.
Like I already posted, if you want to homebrew that your players fall through the Tiny Hut with forced movement, that's your prerogative. But if you actually read the wording of the spell it actually states: Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely. The word can in this usage is defined as being made possible. Nowhere in the spell's description does it state that creatures must move through the dome or floor, only that they can. The spell makes no reference to any forced movement for creatures inside the dome.
The spell describes the tiny hut as a hemisphere, meaning it is a half-sphere or a dome/wall with a floor. The spell also states the Tiny Hut remains stationary for the duration. It does not state it's a magical levitating floor, or a floor made of air, only that the hemisphere is stationary. Which does not mean it scrapes along the ground while the planet rotates beneath it, assuming it has been cast it on Toril, Exandria, etc. and not a flat D&D world.
So if the ground underneath disappears, the floor of the hemisphere is still there and it does not move. The occupants can definitely, as written, go through it but, as written, there's nothing to indicate that they must.
This is incorrect.
Everywhere in the rules of the game, whenever a creature or player can do something it means that they have the option to do so if they so choose.
If you have a superpower which makes it so that you can walk through walls, it doesn't mean that you will always pass through walls even when you don't want to. The default is that you interact with walls normally, but if you choose to do so you can activate your superpower and walk through them instead.
Nope. A hemisphere does not have a shell, it's a volume. The hemispherical effect of Tiny Hut is "The atmosphere inside the space is comfortable and dry, regardless of the weather outside." It also determines where the caster has to be to not have the spell end.
The actual dome of force is described separately: "A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you and remains stationary for the duration. "
That is explicitly a dome, and explicitly above you, neither of which allows for a floor.
My ruling, based on as it is written, would be it is up to the creature if it falls or not -- but only if one presumes it is a hemisphere with a bottom (as someone earlier determined).
However...
As written, Tiny Hut is only a Dome. Not a hemisphere. Some outside agency might say it is half a sphere (a hemisphere) but That isn't in the spell itself. So my actual ruling would be that it lacks a floor because I don't give a rat's ass what someone says they meant if I am going by RAW.
Take out the support, and you have a dome floating in the air and a bunch of falling folks.
I know that you can shape a wall of force, but RAW it explicitly says "a Hemispherical".
Now, that's if I was to go by RAW.
I will say that every time I read it, I keep thinking "this isn't tiny hut, this is secure shelter" but that's because I am apparently trying to flashback to when they were two separate spells. And that leads me into the other thing, the narrative play rule.
Narratively, in a given situation, I would likely be inclined to allow them to not fall through. For a couple simple reasons: 1 - they wouldn't have been allowed to set it up in a freaking tree to begin with, and it messes with the story of the characters seeking a moment's rest when I am throwing all manner of rando enc's at 'em.
"cast it in a tree" my hind end!
Edited to add:
A 10-foot-radius immobile dome of force springs into existence around and above you and remains stationary for the duration. The spell ends if you leave its area.
Nowhere in the description does it say hemisphere.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Tiny Hut
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/tiny-hut
Ain't no hemisphere there.
Hmm. Which counts more here? The DDB stuff that's been updated, or the PHB stuff that hasn't? Because your copypasta comes from the PHB, and mine comes from the DDB spell description.
(because, turns out, we both right).
Given the text description between the two is the same, I am still ruling RAW that the dome has no floor.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
What's that spherical thing on the DDB Range/Area part of the spell's description that it doesn't let you copy/paste? (Serious question, I use Roll20 not DDB.) For extra fun, there's also the Sage Advice where Jeremy Crawford contradicts himself. There is the possibility that WotC & DDB staff are just trolling the player base because it's fun.
I'm not trying to tell anybody how to DM their games here. I'm just pointing out what's written down. Ultimately RAW and RAI don't matter. It's what we want to do as DMs. My ruling is that it is a hut that has a floor. If the player wants to make it an igloo or a hut from Gilligan's Island they're welcome to. I would even let them put it on a raft or other mobile surface that it will fit on. But I don't need to destroy a Tiny Hut to kill my players' characters. I might need to do it to save them from each other...
The PHB as that is an actual rule book (and tiny hut hasn't had any errata AFAIK).
So what happens to the objects inside the dome when the area under the floor is excavated. Objects, unlike characters, do not have the ability to choose. Objects like crossbow bolts can pass through when not being held by anyone. Presumably then, all objects lying on the floor of a tiny hut when the ground underneath is removed then fall through even if characters do not? (Assuming someone rules the hut has a floor in the first place :) ).
What happens to a character that is sleeping and incapable of choosing? :)
"Creatures and objects within the dome when you cast this spell can move through it freely."
Going into the weeds a bit here but I was curious so I looked it up. Here is what Wikipedia says about this:
"Mathematicians consider a sphere to be a two-dimensional closed surface embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space. They draw a distinction a sphere and a ball, which is a three-dimensional manifold with boundary that includes the volume contained by the sphere . . . The distinction between "circle" and "disk" in the plane is similar."
Anyway, I would rule that by default the objects remain within the hemisphere and only exit when an affected creature wants it to. Like, if a PC within the hemisphere wants to start a fire outside of the hemisphere, he can carry his fire starting equipment out and then back inside if he so chooses. Or, for fun he can throw his flint and steel against the wall and watch it rattle around inside the hemisphere. And yes, this would be dependent on the hut having a floor in the first place which is actually pretty unclear.
In my opinion this is definitely a spell that deserved errata for clarification.
Thezzaruz, to answer your question: Yes PHB is the physical Players Handbook or PDF version. But in DnDBeyond (DDB) there is no errata with the exception of adding a sphere symbol in the casting. "Tiny Hut" is a direct rip of "Lemund's Tiny Hut" from the Wizard spell. The verbiage is almost the same but in Lemund's spell, it does say the spell casts as a hemisphere dome in the PHB. A little more clear to be certain. But then when I reread it both descriptions do state above and around. Not below. Which makes sense of a Dome.
It is in my opinion this spell needs some explanation more than, "JC once said in a Twitter post" To me those are just conversations like this. But with no solid blueprint to follow it is DM ruling that fixes this spell.
I am amazed at how this conversation went well beyond my original thoughts and has in my opinion (saying that a lot in the rambling) been very constructive. I appreciate that a group of DMs weighed in with good rulings plus some fun ways to mess with it. Helped me know what do to in the future if I need to rule it.
I live my life like a West Marches campaign, A swirling vortex of Ambitions and Insecurities.
The spell obviously isn't describing a mathematical or even geographic hemisphere. It's not creating a volume, it is a magical construction. In the real world, a dome can be natural or manmade. Constructed domes, such as the Houston Astrodome, are not volumes, they are, to use Pentagruel's wording, shells. And they have a floor.
The spell explicitly states that it creates a magical dome. A dome is defined as a roof or vault having a circular, polygonal, or elliptical base and a generally hemispherical or semispherical shape. The spell states in the range section that this dome is a hemisphere with a 10' radius.
We have always ruled it was a simple dome. No floor.
When cast it creates a seal around the edge that would keep out the normal atmosphere. Wind, rain and extreme temps.
The edge can not be broken but you can tunnel into or out of it. Its to low level of a spell to be impenetrable. Its a essentially a very strong tent. A temporary shelter from the elements.
It has several weaknesses to account for it low level, the caster can not leave the area of effect, no floor, time limit and limited area of effect.
Its greatest feature is that it is a ritual spell. A no cost spell for the caster.
Do not make it more than it already is.
But rule as you wish, just remember that making a low level spell more powerful essentially makes similar higher level spells worth less.
That doesn't actually help you, because the definition of a hemisphere is a portion of a sphere, and the bottom is not a portion of a sphere.
Now, D&D does not use the mathematical definition of sphere -- a fireball affects everyone within the volume, not just people on the edges, but that also doesn't help, because the dome is not not a volume effect. The volume effects of tiny hut are:
The dome is actually a wall effect, similar to wall of force, and there is no area category in D&D for walls -- you are required to just read the text of the spell to determine what they can do. The text of the spell says 'dome', and while it's possible for a dome to be closed at the bottom, the vast majority are not.
I actually don't need help. A physical sphere, such as a ball, is round. A physical hemisphere, such as the Astrodome, is round with one flat side.
If the spell's description only stated dome and the range did not include the word hemisphere then you might have a point about not all domes having a floor since not all domes are hemispherical. If only the range stated hemisphere and the description did not state dome them you might have a point about volume. Unfortunately the spell includes both so it has a floor.
This is backed up by a Sage Advice entry that I previously linked where Jeremy Crawford stated that hemisphere was used intentionally to denote that the Tiny Hut's dome has a floor.
Um.. the Astrodome doesn't have a flat side. The dome portion stops at the top of the bleachers and does not have a separate bottom at all.
The entry you link (a) contradicts itself, and (b) isn't in SAC and thus not official.
WotC is entirely sure. In his first tweet (is this now known as Xited?) on this matter, Jeremy Crawford states: Leomund's tiny hut creates a dome, not a hemisphere. There's no floor. In his subsequent tweet, Jeremy Crawford states Leomund's tiny hut does have a floor, Mr. Crawford (read your own book). The spell's range entry says the effect is hemispherical.
As always the DM of the game has final say and determines if they want the hut to have a floor or not. The DM can even outlaw the spell entirely. However, if it does not have a floor and the player casts it on snow, you're going to have to deal with the comfortable and dry air melting the snow. If it is cast in a swamp no floor means they're resting on wet stagnant ground. Which runs counter to the reason the spell was created in the first place.